What is organizational development?
Imagine that youâve just become president of a small island nation thatâs beset with problems. When campaigning, you said you were committed to improving conditions on the island, but when you actually take office, you only focus on improving the ports. The ports definitely improve, but the rest of the islandâfrom its people to its financesâfalls into total chaos. Thatâs because itâs not enough to focus on one area when improving a complex organization. And that brings us to organizational development.
Organizational development focuses on improving effectiveness and health through planned change. It takes a systematic approach to improving an organization's processes, culture, and structures to enhance overall performance and make it more competitive in the broader market.Â
In our island example, if the organizational development process were adopted, every single facet of the island would have been affected, leading to improvement in every area and an overall healthier nation.Â
Since organizational development isnât focused in a single area, it makes sense that it requires two primary things: a coordinated effort across the organization that involves everyone striving in the same direction and plenty of time to allow the change to take place. But, because organizational development is such an immense undertaking, its payoff is similarly impressiveâit creates true, integrated, sustained improvements over time.Â
History of the organizational development process
Organizational development doesnât happen overnight, and it wasnât invented overnight. Its origins lie at the beginning of the 20th century, when Frederick Taylor pioneered scientific management. Focusing on standardization and time studies, this approach laid the groundwork for OD practices.Â
Then, in the 1940s, Kurt Lewin introduced the "Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze" model, which became foundational to OD theory. But it wasnât until the 1960s that the term âorganizational developmentâ was born. Thatâs when practitioners like Richard Beckhard and Chris Argyris emphasized planned change, participative management, and organizational learning. Their introduction was critical for organizations trying to survive the economic turmoil of the 1970s and 1980s, when OD was pressure-tested.Â
Now, with the rise of globalization and technology, OD practices are being adapted to new challenges such as virtual teams, global leadership, and rapid technological change. OD now also commonly incorporates agile methodologies and employee wellbeing.
The goals of organizational development
Donât just assume that the goal of OD is to have a healthier bottom lineâthe goal of undertaking OD is largely determined by the type of organization engaging in the process. For a hospital, it could be improving organizational effectiveness. A nonprofit could want improvements to organizational culture. Whatever your orgâs goal may be, itâs critical to identify the desired outcomes before undergoing OD. Otherwise, thereâs no North Star to guide the organization towards.
Challenges to organizational change and development
OD isnât easy. Itâs essential to understand the challenges youâre likely to encounter before you start so you have a plan for overcoming these challenges:
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Resistance: Employees may not be on board with OD, which can undermine change. Deeply ingrained organizational cultures can be challenging to alter.Â
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Lack of clear objectives: If you donât articulate where youâre headed, employees will struggle to understand the purpose of the change, leading to confusion and lack of alignment.
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Poor leadership: Leaders play a critical role in modeling the desired behaviors and championing change. Without strong leadership, change canât happen.
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Poor planning: Effective change management requires careful planning and execution. It must be determined before beginning the change and monitored throughout it to mitigate implementation challenges.
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Complexity: Organizations are often incredibly complex. That means changes in one area can have unintended consequences on other areas, creating additional challenges for coordination and alignment.
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The market: A changing economy, emerging competitors, and even regulatory changes can impact the effectiveness and timing of organizational change initiatives. Sometimes, it all comes down to poor timing.
The process of organizational development
Hopefully, the above challenges arenât discouraging you from undertaking organizational developmentâtheyâre meant to inform and prepare you for the process, not to discourage you from undertaking it. Letâs be clear: OD is worth it. So hereâs how to get it done.
1: Identify what needs to be changed
Use data to inform yourself about what needs to change by administering surveys, conducting interviews, and making observations to gather information about current organizational practices and issues.
2: Analyze data
Assess the data objectively to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This is a great time to utilize our SWOT analysis generator to guide the process.Â
3: Make an action plan
Once you have defined clear, measurable goals for the development process, itâs time to outline specific steps, resources needed, timelines, and responsibilities to reach the goals. We have several action plan templates to eliminate the guesswork of creating your plan.
